Mobile communication devices are used in an ever wider range of applications. In addition to the evolution of personal phones towards smartphones, there is also an increasing need for wireless communication systems being specifically adapted to particular environments and circumstances.
Such an adapted communication system may for example use the DECT-protocol for communication between mobile devices and/or base stations. It is also possible to integrate dedicated mobile communication units in a conventional Wi-Fi environment using versions of the 802.11 protocol or a cellular network.
Regardless of the technology used for communication via mobile communication devices, there is always a desire to improve the mobile device in itself, for example by making it smaller, lighter, less expensive or more robust, depending on the application at hand.
As mobile devices comprise an energy storage unit, typically in the form of a chargeable battery, in some cases a charging connector must be arranged in the mobile device. In many mobile devices the charging connector is arranged at the lower portion of the device so that it may be arranged in a charging station in a more or less upright position. Furthermore, it may be desirable to be able to arrange the mobile device in charging stations, or docking stations, or of various types. The different charging stations may for example be located on a desk, in a vehicle, outdoors or at a dedicated charging location.
However, in devices known today, a series of at least one pin in the connecting portion of the device is required for identifying the type of charging station in which the device has been arranged in order to accurately determine and adapt the charging of the device to the charging properties of the specific charging station. The identification may be performed by grounding or sending a digital signal to one of the pins in the connector of the mobile device, via the corresponding connector in the charging station, where the pin that is grounded or signaled is different for different charging stations. Such a solution takes up valuable space and volume in the portion of the mobile device where the charging connector is arranged.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved way of identifying charger characteristics for a charger in which a mobile communication device is arranged.